Wiet m



(Model.)

W. M. REESE 8a M. R. ZELL.

Burial-Gase.

Patented J-une 8, i880.

l wlTrLEssd/sm/L l t l m iENLcR-s ATORNEY N. PETERS. FHom-LrrHomAPHER. WASHINGTON. D. C.

UNITED ,STATES PATENT Ormea.

WIRT M. REESE AND MARTIN R. ZELL, OF ORRVILLE, OHIO, ASSIGNORS TO CRYSTAL BURIAL OASE COMPANY, OF SAME.PLAOE.

BURIAL-CASE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 228,679, dated June 8, 1880.

Application nleaMareh 36,1880. (Model.)

To all lwhom it may concern Be it known that we, WIRT M. REESE and MARTIN R. ZELL, of Orrville, in the county of Wayne and State of Ohio, have invented a new and valuable Improvement in Burial- Oases; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings,

1o making a part'ol this specification, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

Figure l of the drawings is arepresentation of a side view, partly in section, of my improved burial-case. Fig. 2 is a transverse secr 5 tion thereof, and Figs. 3 and 4: are details.

This invention has relation to improvements in burial caskets, cases, and coftins having a metallic frame and glass, wood, ormetal panels.

The objects of the invention are, first, to devise easy, simple, and economicalmeans, whereby the panels may be attached to the frame to absolutely prevent leakage through the bottom of the case, casket, or cofn; to provide 2 5 means for the ready and expeditious attachment of the inside trimming or lining 5 and, nally, to improve the manufacture of burialreceptacles generally.

The nature of our invention will be clearly 3o understood from the following description, wherein, referring to the drawings, the letter A designates a casket having glass side panels and a similarly-paneled lid.

The bottom B is cast with an erect marginal flange, a, extending completely around it, and having projecting horizontally from its end portions 4inward the lugs or eyes b, and similar perforated lugs may be on the side portions of the said ilange, if desired. Upon the 4o upper side of the bottom, at proper intervals, are cast the flat screw-seats c, which serve as points of attachment to the right-angular handle-arms c', the said arms passing under the bottom and being secured thereto by screws .4 5 passing into but not through the seats c aforesaid. With the Bange and bottom are cast on the former the vertical ribs d, that serve as guides to the head and foot pieces O C of the casket, and hold them in place against the corresponding portions of the flange a. The parts 5o O O may be panel-formed, if desired.

The top rim, D, may be castv n 011e or more pieces, as may be deemed expedient, and is composed of a flat border or rim, d', and a depending auge, d, the said top frame being T-shaped in cross-section. This rim or frame its snugly over the end pieces of the casket, and with the parts above enumerated constitutes the frame-work of the body of the cotlin, casket, or case. This frame is bound together 6o in rigid form by means of stout metal rods e', passing down through the inner edge ot' rim l and through the eyes b, that project through slots c in the end and side pieces, O C', and a nut, e, applied upon the threaded lower ends of said rods below the eyes. By setting up f these nuts the end pieces are forcibly clamped by the bottom and top frame and maintained securely in place.

The rim-frame D is cast with edge-recesses 7o i and wires t', extending across the said recesses, and serving for the attachment of the screen, curtain, or trimming of the interior, the wire being laid in the mold and the rim cast thereon.

The panels, which may be of glass, iron, or wood, are arranged to cover from the inside the spaces between the end pieces, the ange a, and the rim-frame D, and are secured to the sides as follows: There are secured to the 8o screw-seats by means of screws s s adjustable slides j, slotted longitudinally for the passage of said screws, and to the inside of the rimframe similar slides j by screw-bolts s s. The panel being in place, the said slides are pressed 8 5 up forcibly against it and adjusted by setting up the screws.

As above described, the body of the casket is without holes passing through its bottom, and consequently cannot leak 5 but if from any 9o cause a hole should have to be made therein, an inverted cup, k, having an edge-Bange, 1.,' on its lower edge and filled with cement, is usedl The cup is placed over the hole and the screw driven home through it from below.

The lid-frame N, which is made in one or more pieces, is also of iron and of panel-frame form,'the panel being also of glass, wood, or

iron, and secured in place on the inside by means of slides o, of triangular form, and provided with a widened bearing-edge, p, and an inclined slot. These slides are secured to a perforated lug on the lid-frame by means of screws passing through the slot of the slides into the said lug; or we may use slides similar to the slides j aforementioned.

The object of the slides, independent of their obvious function of holding the panels, is to `alloT the ready a-nd speedy attachment ot glass and other panels to the coffin, even thou gh of varying thickness.

lGrlass is rarely made of the same thickness exactly, and were the holding devices fixed the panel would scarcely ever iit sufficiently close against the sides ofthe coftln. By making the slides adjustable this defect is readily overcome.

We are aware that side moldings of a burialease having bent strips or hooks cast therein to retain the cloth lining is not new; and we do not claim a coffin having shoulders between its bottom and sides and handles secured thereto.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a burial case, casket, or coflin, the coinbination, with the one-piece bottom B, having the erect marginal ange a and the horizontal eyes projecting therefrom, the end pieces, G C', and the rim-frame D, of the headed bolts c', extending downward through said rim and eyes, and the nuts c upon the lower ends of said bolts below the eyes, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, with the casket, having open sides and detached panels closing said openings, ot' the slotted adjustable slides j j and set-screws s, substantially as specied.

3. The top rim, D, cast with recesses i in its inner edge, and wires i', extending across said recesses, for the attachment of the inside trimmings, the wire being laid in the mold and the rim cast thereon, substantially as speciiied.

4C. The one-piece cast coffin or casket bottom B, having the raised screw-seats c, the erect edge-ange a, and the perforated lugs b, for assembling the parts of the receptacle and avoiding peribrations in the bottom, substantially as specified. 4

In testimony that we claim the above we have hereunto subscribed our names in the i presence of'two witnesses.

WIRT M. BEESE. MARTIN R. ZELL.

Wtnesses:

FRANK SHALLENBERGER, WALTER L. REEsE. 

